Kansas to Korea

Expedited FBI Criminal Background Check: Accurate Biometrics

Anyone applying to EPIK knows about the dreaded “FBI Criminal Background Check”. No, most of us (I assume) do not have a criminal past, but because the process is notorious for being drawn out, sometimes delayed (looking at you government shutdown!), and adds more time to an already seemingly unbearably long line of “wait and see” necessities required to apply to EPIK.

In the words of Sweet Brown:

Ain’t Nobody got time for THAT!

Speeding up this process IS possible. Of course I will say that with every part of this application process, a lot of what you choose to do depends on time and money. I personally wanted to have all of my documents in hand so that as soon as I passed my EPIK interview (knock on wood) I could send off my documents and be in the queue ASAP.

I did my research and discovered that the FBI has a list of “Approved Channelers”. These channelers operate so that they get your fingerprints, they send them to the FBI and the FBI sends the results to them in literally only days vs. the WEEKS (Months, possibly) it usually takes when you do it alone.

Long story short, I found that my recruiter has a deal with a channeler called Accurate Biometrics. All you need to do is send off your fingerprints (2 cards) along with a payment, and applicant form. A few days after sending off these required documents, I received my cleared criminal background check!

What a FBIeauty!

Keep in mind your criminal background check will only be valid SIX MONTHS after it is issued meaning that you need to time it so that is is valid when you apply for your visa!

As with pretty much anything in this whole process, I recommend sending your documents with a tracking number so you have an idea of where things are. I expected an email telling me that my documents had been received by accurate biometrics, but that didn’t happen! Also, I was not told when my CBC was being sent in the mail.

My breakdown of using a channeler for the FBI backgound check

Is this necessary: No. (Unless you are time crunched!)

Is it worth is: Absolutely.

Do I recommend it: Yes.

Ad astra per aspera,

– Jeffrey

Disclaimer: The review provided in this post should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the mentioned service(s). No compensation was provided in exchange for the review of these service(s).